Thread by @firstdraftnews

Between January and June, First Draft collected 9,722 fact checks about the coronavirus outbreak to find out what we could learn about misinformation. Here’s what we found (thread) firstdraftnews.org/latest/the-fir…

On January 15, @rapplerdotcom debunked a social media claim that a case of SARS had been reported in Mandaluyong City, outside Manila. The article would be the first of many fact checks relating to the new coronavirus in 2020 according to our research rappler.com/newsbreak/fact…

With @GateAcUk, we attributed each fact check to one of nine categories defined by @risj_oxfor to capture the range of misleading or false claims made about the virus reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/types-sources-…

Remember those viral WhatsApp messages that claimed you could kill the virus by gargling salt water? Fact checks about home remedies, self-diagnostics, effects and signs of the disease peaked in March, when the least was known about the virus

Fact checks about the origins of the virus, as well as conspiracy theories, featured relatively heavily at the beginning of the outbreak.

As First Draft’s US Director @cward1e said: “It’s easy to dismiss conspiracies, but we have to understand why they’re taking hold. There isn’t a good origin story for the virus, and so this information vacuum is allowing misinformation to circulate.”

‘Community spread’ (false claims and baseless accusations that certain communities were spreading the virus) received the most fact checks. Old videos and images taken out of context were used as false evidence of gatherings or other behaviors that could lead to community spread.

This analysis was based on research about ‘data deficits’ (situations where there are high levels of demand for information about a topic, but credible information is in low supply). During a pandemic, these deficits can have serious consequences.

firstdraftnews.org/long-form-arti…